Deepcool Killer Whale Premium CPU Cooler Review

Final Thoughts & Conclusion of the Killer Whale Premium

This is the first cooler from Deepcool I have personally used. The build quality is good. The cooler is solidly built and was easy to install. The directions are simple and easy to follow. Over all the Killer Whale Premium is a nice cooler.

Overall the Killer Whale Premium did well in the testing. At the stock system settings it was on par cooling wise with the Noctua NH-C14 with the low noise adaptor. As the testing went on the gap grew slightly, but still close to the NH-C14. Only when the system was pushed to 4Ghz did the roles reverse and the Killer Whale Premium pulled ahead of the Noctua NH-C14.

Even though the Killer Whale Premium has a non standard fan the mount for it will accept any standard 120mm fan. This is nice for a couple of reasons. First is if you have a shallow depth case for an HTPC you can cut 23mm off the overall height by switching the stock 48mm thick fan for an aftermarket 25mm thick fan. Now the stock fan for the Killer Whale Premium is not the quietest fan at full speed, but for a fan pushing 78CFM 32dBA isn’t bad. At 32dBA you won’t be turning up the TV but you will hear it if the case is sitting on the top of the desk.

The biggest issue I had with the Killer Whale Premium is there is no backing plate for the Intel LGA mounting system. The Killer Whale Premium has the weight to go with its name. Coming in at 1.225kg the cooler really should have a backing plate for socket and motherboard support. Intel says that the cooler should not exceed 450g, so running a cooler that is almost 3x that weight limit without a backing plate could cause some issues. If your system lays flat like an HTPC or doesn’t travel then this may not be an issue.

Now if the 1.225kg weight is a deal breaker for you there is the original version of the cooler called the Killer Whale that weighs in at a scant 900g, 325g lighter than the Killer Whale Premium.

The other drawback is that I couldn’t find the cooler at any US based e-tailer. Deepcool is working on getting in the US, but our readers across the pond can check their local haunts to find it or they can look at Deepcool’s website for a list of places that carry their products.

Legit Bottom Line: The Killer Whale Premium from Deepcool is nicely built and being all copper looks great. However it is as heavy as its name suggest and the lack of a backing plate makes me leery of suggesting it for use in systems that move around a lot.